Where are you from, Giacomo?
-Gaeta. -He’s Italian.
Your Giacomo, the boy who died during the exorcism,
he was also from Gaeta.
He's lying to us.
Has no one asked him why he has an arsenal hidden in the church?
People die and there she is, stirring things up.
But that isn’t enough, now she wants you to help her. Listen to me!
I hear about everything. About that and other things. I’ve got good informers.
Your husband left because you’re crazy, you see ghosts and things like that.
Give us back what is ours.
NEW YORK, USA
Close. But please, just stay calm.
Let us pray.
We are gathered here in the Town Hall at 12:30 on Saturday 9 September,
along with those persons identified as Francisco Javier Cercas García...
We were this high when we met...
And Cristina Fuentes Pérez, who wish to contract civil marriage
in accordance with the authorization set out in the document 73B.
I wish to state that they have complied with all the legal conditions
for the celebration of this civil marriage,
without any impediment or obstacle to this celebration having been presented.
Or at least I hope so.
Bring out the hot ones, people are hungry.
-Paco, what’s wrong? -What’s wrong with what?
I can see your face. Something’s wrong.
No, there’s nothing, I’m fine.
Smile then. You look like you’re at a funeral rather than a wedding.
-Don’t you like the catering? -No, it isn’t the catering.
Then what is it, Paco, darling? You've been like this for days.
It’s like your mind is somewhere else.
Everything's fine.
Are you going to tell me what's wrong with you?
First I marry them, then I bring them here to our hotel.
For fuck's sake, Merche.
It’s as if I was using my position to do business.
You haven’t brought anyone here. They’ve come because the price is good.
Yes, but people... People talk.
Then these things appear in the papers. It’s my face that’s on the front page.
And what do you want to do? Close the hotel while you’re mayor?
Come on! Any of those people who are criticizing
could have opened a hotel like we did, but they didn’t, and do you know why?
Because talking is much easier than working.
-Here, here! -Put your glasses on.
-Thanks, Juan Carlos. -Good.
-You look great. -Thank you.
You and I slog our guts out every day to keep this going.
-Right. -Do you understand?
-I do. -Has it arrived yet?
-No. -Oh, God...
-Nothing but problems. -Now what’s wrong?
The cake hasn’t arrived.
Yes?
-Where are you? -Nearly there.
You shouldn’t have gone on your own, you didn’t sleep all night.
I’m fine. I'm fine.
It's just that...
I can’t stop thinking about it.
-We should talk to somebody. -To whom, Susana?
Who are we going to tell about this?
Why does Tomás have to bring the cake?
Because he’s the bride’s cousin, and it’s his wedding gift.
He insisted that it had to be from that cake shop in Sepúlveda,
and now here we are, all waiting.
Maybe when we get home it won’t be there.
Tonight we’ll think about it more calmly. Put it out of your mind.
It’s impossible.
Don’t you understand that it’s impossible?
Fuck, I’m going crazy.
It’s a mirror...
A mirror...
A mirror!
Tomás? Are you all right?
Tomás!
Paco, go...
Take him to the local hospital.
-Tomás! Tomás! -Susana!
-I'm here! -Susana...
-Tomás, I'm... -He wasn't wearing his seatbelt.
His head went through the windscreen.
Fortunately the airbag softened the impact.
What the fuck is this?
The cake.
Cake? Fuck...
I didn’t want to extend the pharmacy, but he insisted so much...
We bought the apartment on the floor above.
It has been closed for over 50 years.
It was all just as it had been left:
furniture, the bed made up with sheets, the bedspread, the pillow.
-Renovations would drive anyone crazy. -It wasn’t the renovations.
It was the mirror.
Excuse me?
It’s best if you see for yourself.
It’s here.
-That one? -Yes.
It’s still there, isn’t it?
What?
It's okay, Bravo!
Quiet, Bravo.
Quiet, Bravo!
-What’s up, Paco? -I’m sorry to bother you...
I know you’re in the clinic, but I didn’t know who to talk to.
Don’t scare me. Now what’s happened?
I can’t explain it. You have to see it.
-Where are you? -At the pharmacy.
-In the upstairs apartment. -I’ll finish here and come right over.
Bravo! Bravo!
Bravo!
What's wrong with you?
Is it this?
It's okay. Okay. It's okay.
Come here.
Okay. It's okay.
What’s wrong? I don’t understand.
Look closely. What do you see?
-You don’t look well. -Jesus...
It’s not that. Look on the table. Do you see it?
A book?
Good.
Turn around.
Fuck.
I’m not surprised that Tomás ended up crashing into a tree.
What are you doing?
Look.
There’s something written on the spine.
What is it?
It’s Greek.
So the Gospel of Judas does exist.
Apparently, it’s one of the Apocryphal Gospels.
The Gospels that the Church doesn’t recognize as inspired by God.
But are there more than the ones in the Bible?
Dozens. By St. John, by St. James, by Mary Magdalene...
Right, once it got famous, they all wanted to tell their version.
No, it wasn’t that.
Really, they’re Gnostic Texts, a kind of sect inside Christianity.
They called them by those names to give them importance,
so that they’d seem authentic.
And what does it say?
I don’t know, there’s a PDF here, but I don’t... Let's see...
"Judas raised his eyes, and saw the luminous cloud, and went into it..."
What happened then?
I don't know. There are five lines missing.
"You will sacrifice the man that clothes me."
So, Christ tells Judas to betray him.
So it seems.
He planned his death beforehand with Judas.
It’s called "The Gospel of the betrayal".
The idea is very simple.
-God is all-powerful, agreed? -Agreed.
So, he knows everything that’s going to happen.
-Yes. -He knows and he allows it,
because it is part of his plan, the Divine Plan.
We suppose so.
So Judas’ betrayal is also part of the plan.
Christ wants to be betrayed.
It’s Christ who asks Judas to do it, so that Salvation is possible.
But look, if Judas doesn’t betray him,
he wouldn’t end up on the cross, and then he wouldn’t rise from the dead.
-What are you saying? -Judas is the greatest of the saints,
because he gives up his soul so that Christ can fulfill his destiny.
Judas sacrifices himself for him.
Hey, Remedios.
At least that’s what the Cainites says.
Excuse me. 100 grams of cooked ham...
-Some Burgos cheese. -Okay.
-And do you have any blood sausage? -Yes.
I have a very good spicy sausage.
-Is it too spicy? -No, it's kind of mild.
-Because you know it's... -No, don't worry about that.
And how is it that I’ve never heard of this before?
It isn’t the sort of thing that usually comes up in the Sunday sermon.
But this story of the Cainites calls everything into doubt, doesn’t it?
-What do you mean, everything? -Fuck, religion.
If it turns out that Judas was doing
what he was told to do, that changes everything!
Exactly. That’s why the gospel disappeared.
Or they made it disappear, because it was too inconvenient.
In principle, yes.
-In principle? -There have always been suspicions
that heresy still had its followers, even today.
It has a certain fundamental logic.
Are you defending it?
No, but it’s as illogical as the official version.
God’s attributes have always caused problems.
At its lowest, it’s the question of evil.
Why does God permit the existence of evil?
Why?
A man who cannot tell the difference between evil and good is a free man.
So that we’re free?
But at the same time he accepts the suffering of the innocent,
poverty, crime, injustice.
Being free has a high price. A very high price.
Evil is necessary so that good exists.
If evil is necessary, that’s like saying it’s good,
and those who do evil are playing a role within the divine plan.
Therefore, it would be good to do evil.
That’s precisely what the Cainites defend.
But what’s all this about?
It’s about something that really is impossible to understand.
-More than the problem of evil? -Much more.
I told you I didn’t want to see him.
I can’t think of anyone else who might know something about this.
Hi, Elena.
Shall we go up?
What?
Right here.
It can’t be.
And now how are you going to explain this?
It isn’t a hallucination.
We’re not hysterical or drugged.
What are you going to do?
Lock yourself away in your house and not talk about this like the last time.
There’s no trick.
Shit! The door!
It’s open!
What?
It's not moving.
It's still open.
What the hell is going on here?
-Fuck! -What?
Did you see that? Someone just walked past!
I saw someone on the other side of the door.
Let’s see that smile.
Lourdes, do what this gentleman tells you.
-Smile a bit, like when you’re happy. -She’s happy now.
Love, she isn’t happy, look at her face.
Juan Carlos. Hello. Can I borrow you a second?
Be right back. It'll be just a second. Or a second and a half.
It just seems like...
Why don't you smile?
Parents are the worst. You know what happens?
Everyone has a great camera on their phone, and this isn’t valued.
Don't say that. I value it.
Listen, would you have one of those surveillance cameras,
like they put in buildings, but very small?
-What’s it for? The Town Hall? -No, for the hotel.
There are a lot of thieves around.
You’ll have to go to Segovia for that, to MediaMarkt.
No, you’re going to go. Get me three or four, I need them now.
-Is 300 enough? -And why am I going to go?
This way you get something out of it.
If you send everyone to MediaMarkt, it’s normal that people don’t value you,
and in the end the local shop ends up closing.
-Leave me on my own. -What? No way.
I’m going to spend the night here until I find out what’s going on.
I can't let you be exposed again.
-It's dangerous. -Elena, please...
Let's leave him on his own. Trust me.
Let's go.
Shut the door.
The opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear.
And we mustn't fear fear.
What's going on?
-Are we going to leave him on his own? -Wait. Look.
You installed cameras? Are you insane?
If anything happens, we have it on tape.
-Yes, but you didn’t tell him. -Of course not.
I want to know if he has anything to do with all this.
He knew nothing about the mirror.
And he knew nothing about the calf, about the Ouija,
but in the end everything points to him.
For fuck’s sake, Elena. That’s how it is.
Is this your wife’s idea?
My wife knows nothing.
-It seems like her idea. -She wants to throw him out of the town.
-I told her I don't have any evidence. -And maybe with this you will.
Or not. The more information we have, the better.
He isn’t an idiot. In 10 minutes he’ll spot the cameras,
and I want to see your face then.
They’re very small now, and I spent all afternoon concealing them.
I don’t like this.
This is the app. Download it to your phone, the password is "Pedraza",
-and follow it from your house. -No.
-Why? -Because I won’t. It’s a mean trick.
Would you like someone filming you without saying anything?
And anyway, I know what’s happening is real.
As real as you and I talking here, okay?
I’m not here to unmask anybody.
Paco, are you all right?
Yes.
You’ve been in there for an hour.
Paco?
-Yes? -You’ve been in there for an hour.
-I know. -Are you coming to bed?
Dinner didn't agree with me.
Whatever, I'll be waiting in bed.
I'll be there in a minute.
SEARCH
SIGN IN
-What are you doing with the mobile? -Fuck, Merche. You scared me.
What are you doing with the phone? It’s five in the morning!
Exactly, I wanted to know what time it was,
because I get up at seven and I can’t sleep.
-Sure. -What?
-You were looking at porn. -Porn, what porn?
The sad thing isn’t that you watch it, it’s that you want to hide it from me.
Sorry.
If you want to make love, tell me.
I'm not up for it now, but tell me.
He's asleep.
Morning.
-Good morning. -I fell asleep.
I'm sorry.
We’ll have to try again.
Look.
What happened?
You filmed me all night?
-For security. -Security about what?
-Please, you have to watch this. -Look at your reflection!
It has come alive! Now we have evidence.
Father!
It’s him, isn’t it?
The man in the other room. It’s Giacomo.
Don’t you understand? That mirror reflects your fears.
It takes out the darkest thing you have in your mind.
Think of Tomás, the pharmacist.
Something similar must have happened to him.
Don’t let it end with you.
Are you threatening me?
Let him go.
Look, there was a mirror there.
I didn't sleep last night. I couldn't stop looking at him.
I was convinced that at any minute he was going to open his eyes.
Every concussion is different.
You never know how the human body will react.
At times, it needs to be like that, kind of latent, so that it can recover.
-It’s still there, isn’t it? -I’m sorry?
If you run your hand over the table,
you can feel the book.
When you run your hand over it, you can move it.
That means that it exists,
and that what is false is our side.
Do you understand?
We should see it, but we don’t. Because of something...
something hidden.
Will you get me a coffee?
Antonio?
-I don’t have any coins, Elena. -Sure.
Tell your friend to be careful. They’re very annoyed.
Who? Why do you say that?
The ones from Rome.
Are you talking about Vergara, the priest?
They’re going after him. And now they know that you have it.
-What do I have? -The coin.
Because I hear them at night. But very softly.
You have to be very quiet.
I sleep and they start to talk.
What do they say to you?
-What does that mean? -Fuck, Paco, it's a message.
Okay, agreed. Who for?
Who do you think? For Vergara!
What's behind that door affects him directly.
-The man sitting in the chair. -What?
He’s the boy who died.
-Giacomo. -Yes.
Okay...
You won’t get anything out of him. You know that.
If we put enough pressure on him... He looked different, very upset.
What is it?
Did you close the blinds?
Vergara, don't!
No, don't, please!
Paco!
Is that what you’re going to do for the rest of your life?
Don’t start giving me sermons, Elena. I’m the priest here. Move.
You came here to escape,
you were running from what’s tormenting you.
-Move. -You thought it couldn’t find you,
but it did.
It’s here, on the other side of the mirror.
And as you’re just a coward, you want to destroy it.
You want me to face up to my fears?
Like in an airport self-help manual. What do you know about fear?
Break it.
Break it if you want, but it’ll come back.
You’ve tried everything.
Denying it, saying that it’s a set-up, blaming us, everything except the truth.
I’ve been blaming myself for years, I don’t need any mirror for that!
I want to talk to you on your own.
Tell her to get out of here.
Get out of here.
We had a chance, but we didn’t take it.
They wanted us on their side, do you remember?
But we didn’t listen.
We thought we were better than them.
You’re not real.
You’re only in my head.
The door is still open.
They want to give us a second chance,
but we have to answer with a gesture,
something that makes it clear that we’re on their side.
Why is it so important?
You know why.
Shit, he's turning them off.
I don’t have it.
Take it from her.
It’s the coin. They want the coin.
Is it so hard for you?
If you don’t do it, I will.
You don't want them to hear you?
No, no!
Shit!
You’re not going to do anything.
Would you like to talk to him?
He’s here, with me.
How often have you dreamed of talking to him,
of begging him to forgive you?
Giacomo...
-What are we going to do? -Move aside. I'm going to break it down.
Do you remember us?
You...
killed me.
We want to know if you still bear us a grudge.
I want... to rest.
We just want your forgiveness.
We’re like you, trapped in the memory.
Let... him ask me.
Giacomo... Forgive me.
I can’t hear you.
Forgive me, Giacomo. I thought that...
Never!
You were right, Elena. They want the coin.
When you asked me about Cainites, I didn’t tell you the whole truth.
Well, at last.
The sect is alive. It always has been, throughout the centuries.
-In Rome. -Where else?
I don’t like talking about the enemies of the Church,
especially because most of them belong to the Church.
The Cainites seek to do all the evil possible,
because it’s the way of following God’s true designs.
They’re like Catholics, but the reverse.
They have their priests, their bishops... Their relics.
The dark reflection of God.
Follow me.
Have you seen this, Paco?
The blood of St. Ambrose.
A piece of the sponge with which they gave Christ vinegar to drink.
The rest is in El Escorial.
The Church treasures objects that were in contact with Jesus and the saints.
Supposedly as a testimony, but really, they’re much more than that.
-What do you mean? -They’re objects of power.
They’ve been in contact with the divine, do you understand?
Their mere presence protects us.
Then the Cainites... also have their own relics.
Exactly.
They don’t want the Holy Shroud or the blood of St. Ambrose.
They look for objects that did harm to Christ.
The suffering of God is the most powerful of energies.
The nails from the cross, the thorns from the crown...
-The spear of Longinus. -Of who?
Longinus, the Roman soldier who pierced Christ’s side with his spear.
Judas’s 30 coins.
Finding the 30 coins would mean the definitive collapse of Christianity.
Whoever has those 30 coins will have in his possession
a weapon more powerful than the very Arc of the Covenant.
Think about it for a moment.
There is no greater pain...
than betrayal.
And you have one of them.
We can’t let it fall into their hands. Only I can prevent it.
I know them.
I know their weak points. They’re vain.
They like confrontation,
and they enjoy it when their rival is on their level.
Why do you think they haven’t turned up in the middle of the town, armed,
and done away with all of us?
They want to play!
They want to drive us insane.
But I’m stronger than them. You wouldn’t resist even one attack, I assure you.
It’s best if we keep it in a safe place.
Here, in the sacristy.
Maybe you're right.
I should get the coin and leave it here, which is where it should be.
-Don't be afraid. It's okay... -Let's go.
-Come on. -No!
You faced up to the mirror on your own.
After all that’s happened,
I think I have the right to be the one to return it to where it belongs.
Wait for us here.
I don’t know... Maybe we’re wrong.
He's here.
Wait.
Elena.
You told me you were going home and you came here, to the clinic.
What's wrong?
You don’t trust me?
You think that I’m one of them?
That I’m going to betray you?
You were afraid before, and now you seem very sure of yourself.
What’s changed? What did the reflection tell you?
Think for a minute. Why would I tell you everything?
I understand them, but I’m not one of them.
Years ago, Giacomo gave me the coin,
and I think that I must protect it, that’s all.
If I lent it to you, it was to get away from it for a while.
It’s a terrible burden.
But now it has to be kept in a safe place.
Keep it if you want.
I just wanted to protect you.
I’ll be in the church, if you need me.
It would have been easier to tell the truth from the beginning.
I tried to keep you away from all this.
It’s hard to believe that this madness is still happening in our times,
while people are going to work, getting married and paying the mortgage.
I hope it's worth it,
because people have died for it already.
What are you doing?
-Sending a message to Laguna. -And what are you going to tell him?
Anything but the truth. What matters is that he comes, and comes now.
Stand still. Don’t move.
How are you, Father? Out for a walk?
-Forget the message. -What?
Paco’s message. Forget it.
You don’t have to go to Elena’s clinic. Everything’s all right.
-Everything’s all right. -You’re going to go back to the station
and you aren’t going to tell anyone anything.
-Not anyone. -Be in my church in half an hour.
-Throw me the coin. -What?
Throw me the coin. On the count of three.
One...
Two...
Listen.
If it isn’t him...
If he’s the one from the mirror...
Where’s Vergara?
Inside the mirror.
The struggle between Good and Evil.
I’m going to tell you where evil is.
You certainly shouldn’t look for it in Hell.
Evil is on your side, in the heart of your own home.
Evil is that man who appears on the television, smiling,
promising to solve all your problems.
Problems that, really, he created himself.
He fools you. He lies to you.
And you vote for him, time and again.
Why?
Because you're scared.
Because you think the evil you know is better than the evil you don’t.
How do we get to the other side?
I don't know...
What are you doing?
What are you going to do?
Shit!
What the fuck is this?
Like Alice.
Paco!
Come, this way.
God wants justice.
He wants us to denounce those who manipulate us with their words,
and at the same time steals what is ours.
Every day we find a new case in the newspaper. That's true.
From time to time they let one fall,
so that it will seem that everything is under control,
but they come back, and they’re always the same.
And you know it and you accept it.
You know who I’m talking about.
Here in town, we have one of those.
He greets you in the morning, he shakes your hand in the afternoon,
and at night he bites you on the neck.
That bloodsucker has taken over half of the town,
and he’s going after the other half.
-That's so true! Thief! -Yes.
-Bastard! -It’s all the fault of that mayor!
Scoundrel!
Don’t worry, Merche,
because here, you too are a victim.
Your husband’s ambition has led him to abandon the church
to celebrate profane ceremonies just across the way.
Then, he scorns the sanctity of marriage,
coupling with that woman who has dealings with animals.
-Elena! -She killed a pig of mine!
Shame on them!
Now he’s eating from her hand
and nothing can prevent that vermin from taking over the whole town.
-Scoundrel! -Nothing...
and no one...
except us.
Us!
Us! Us!
Where is your coin?
Look!
Let's go!
Elena isn't there.
It seems that all is okay. But they want to make sure.
They say he may wake up any time.
But what happened, Paco?
An accident. In Tomás’s house.
You know, they’re doing renovations. Nothing serious.
I should have called you sooner, but it was impossible.
-Don’t worry. I’ll see you at home. -Okay.
Where are you?
Listen, Paco...
What?
Nothing.
I need to see you.
Don’t be long, please.
I’m on my way.
-You escaped by the skin of your teeth. -What did you say?
You played well, but the ball is in your court, and they’ll come back.
Antonio, leave me in peace for while. Go on, be good.
You want to rest, don’t you?
-Yes, I do. -Do you want the game to end?
Yes, I want the game to end and to go back to the changing room.
How do you do that?
Puncturing the ball.